


Well, That Was Unexpected

by hopelessbookgeek



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: F/M, Halloween, Stupid Sexy Costumes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 05:46:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5080036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessbookgeek/pseuds/hopelessbookgeek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>York and Carolina have fantastic costumes. North and Wash don't fully appreciate them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Well, That Was Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first RvB fic and I'm pumped. I loved season 10 and had the stupidest fluffiest idea and here we are. It's pre-AI and pre-Tex, so Carolina gets to be happy. I'm pretending nothing tragic happens ever.

Carolina kicked down the door to York’s bunk, sack slung over her shoulder. “Happy Halloween, bitch.”

“Is that any way to talk to the guy who gave you the idea for the greatest Halloween costume in known history?”

“Glad to see you’re still modest, York.”

“Speaking of, though, I may have to back out. I couldn’t steal North’s helmet.”

Carolina closed the door behind her and handed over the sack. “And that’s why I am the best.”

York peeked in and laughed. “You stole them both?”

“Requisitioned new ones. I said that North and Wash had both busted up their helmets and needed replacements. I have to report in with the busted up ones by tomorrow morning to prove it, but I figure you and I can bust these up later.”

“It’s a Halloween miracle!” York began stripping off his armor and gestured for Carolina to do the same. It was nice to shake her hair out of her helmet, for now at least, and it was always nice to see York’s handsome face.

She dug through the sack to find the rest of her planned costume– a black bikini, relatively modest considering, and black boots. “Damn. To put this on, I’m going to have to get naked first, and then you’re going to start touching me, and then we’ll be late.”

“I solemnly swear to be good until after the party. Maybe I’ll keep the helmet on and pretend to be North.” He waggled his eyebrows and she snorted.

“You think I want to bang North?”

“ _Do_ you?”

She didn’t answer, which she knew would bother him. “You couldn’t pretend to be North anyway. I know what he looks like.”

“Hm, you’re right. I’m tanner and buffer than he is.”

“Shorter too.”

“What?”

“I said, hurry up.” She grinned at him and after a beat he grinned back, stripping his shirt and pants off. She watched distractedly, her eyes following the smooth lines of his muscles as they rippled. Under his sweatpants he wore green briefs that hugged his ass and upper thighs…

By the time he stepped out of his pants, he noticed Carolina was still staring at him and raised an eyebrow. “Thought you were worried about being late?”

“Oh, right, right.” She tore her eyes from York and quickly changed into her bikini. “Christ, this thing is revealing,” she commented, tugging on the top. She wasn’t exactly _overflowing_ with cleavage but it sure was all on display.

“I like it.”

“You’ll like it a lot less when I’m wearing Wash’s helmet.”

“That’s probably true.” Carolina slid on the combat boots she’d stolen and Wash’s helmet and then turned back to York, who was wearing the green briefs and a purple tie, and nothing else beside the boots and helmet. “You like? I wanted a bow tie but I couldn’t find one.”

“I like the regular tie better.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Nice. We look good as hell, Lina.”

“Fucking right we do. When’s Connie gonna be here?”

There was a knock at the door, two soft ones. “Sounds like right now.” York went to pull it open and for the first time, Carolina saw Connie speechless. She looked York up and down and when she realized what she was looking at, she sighed.

“Jesus fucking Christ, York.” She looked around him and saw Carolina, who waved, and sighed again. “He put you up to this, Carolina?”

“It may have been his idea…”

“Well, I for one am sure looking forward to North decking him.”

“Oh, me too. Hey, you look nice.” Connie was dressed like a cat in all black, and there was something very soft and pretty about her when she was smiling.

“Thanks. Guess how many weapons I’m concealing?”

“I can’t possibly see how you’re concealing any.”

“Wrong. Four.”

Carolina laughed. “That’s incredible. Do you think South is gonna deck York too for this?”

“I wish, but nah, she’ll probably laugh.”

“Hey,” York interrupted, “shouldn’t we get going? I didn’t look this sexy to be ignored.”

“Alright, let’s go so you can get a jump on drinking too much and letting Georgia finger you in the broom closet,” Carolina said casually. The three of them left and headed towards the rec room.

“That didn’t happen,” Connie said, but there was a question in it.

“Last Christmas. You may have noticed York is the Project’s hovercycle.”

“That’s just rude,” York complained. “It’s not my fault you all find me irresistible. I am beautiful and powerful–”

“And dressed as North.”

“I’m telling North you don’t think he’s beautiful and powerful.”

“North’s the most relaxed guy on the base. He’s not exactly who comes to mind when I think about _powerful_.”

They chatted amicably on the way. Their banter had always been fun, even more so out of battle situations, when Carolina could relax and appreciate how much fun her teammates could be to be around. When they were almost there, York stopped outside a door. “This is where I leave you both for now.”

Carolina raised an eyebrow. “Georgia waiting in there?”

“It’s not a closet. It’s the back door to the rec room.”

“York’s into back doors,” Connie muttered to Carolina, who smirked.

“I heard that. No, I’m going to make a fantastic entrance.”

“Okay, well, Connie and I are going to make a regular entrance, so we’ll just see you later.” They both waved York off and went into the party, lit low with flickering pumpkins. “Oh, Florida went all out, huh? Think they’ll have any whiskey?”

“I have a feeling you’ll find out.”

“I’m gonna go look. I’ll catch up with you later. If you see York again, try not to let him do anything embarrassing, or if you can’t stop him, get pictures.”

Connie mock-saluted. “Over and out, captain. See ya ‘round.” She slipped into the crowd and North slipped out of it, looking surprisingly suave in a fine tuxedo and slicked-back hair. “Hey, North!” Carolina called, and when he saw her, he nodded and came over, drink in hand. “Hello.”

“Hello to a surprising amount of you too, Carolina,” he said, amusement in his smooth low voice. “Why do I feel like this was York’s idea?”

“It was. Wait until you see what _he’s_ wearing.”

“God, I don’t think I want to know. So you’re…?”

“Sexy Agent Washington, yeah.”

“Has he seen you get?”

“No, I just got here. You think he’ll be flattered?”

“I think he’ll be a little things, but I’m not sure flattered will be one of them.” When North smiled, his eyes crinkled up, and even though he couldn’t see her, Carolina smiled back.

“You look good, by the way,” she remembered to say.”

“Why thank you. My sister told me I didn’t look convincingly cool.”

“You do seem a bit more good-natured than might be considered traditionally cool, but hey, you’re out there saving the universe for a living, so how much of a square can you be?”

“Was that a compliment?”

“It was.”

“Then thanks, Carolina.” He craned his neck, his height an advantage in this situation. “I think I see Wash. Do you want me to get him?”

“Sure.” North handed her his drink and slid off to grab Wash. While they were gone, she looked around, spotting familiar faces: Connie flirting with South, Utah and Georgia play-arguing over something no doubt irrelevant, Massachusetts trying to entice Wyoming to dance with her, chatterbox Lou mediating between Maine and tiny Rhodey. These people she’d fought with, trained with… there was such a joy in seeing them just live their lives so happily, or at least comfortably.

“ _Oh my God_ ,” came Wash’s voice from her other side, so she turned to look and there was North, cool as a fair number of cucumbers, and Wash, decked out in a cat-suit like Connie’s and a blush.

“Hey, Wash. What’s up?”

“You’re _me_ for Halloween.”

“I’m Sexy You for Halloween. I think I’m an improvement, honestly. Although the cat ears look mighty handsome, I have to say.”

He still looked confused, his brows drawn up right, his mop of hair falling in his eyes. “This had to be–”

“York’s idea,” she finished a little wearily. “I know. It was. But come on, check me out.” She struck a few poses, flexing her muscles. “I look great.”

“I hate him. I’m going to beat the shit out of him,” Wash muttered as North took his drink back from Carolina.

“I’m sure North will help you.”

North cocked his head. “What makes you say that?”

Before Carolina could deliberately not answer, the music changed to something ostentatious and outrageous and she knew, a split second before it happened, that it was _time_.

York stepped out onto the platform that passed for a stage and the music thrummed. He started posing the way Carolina had just a minute ago, all absurd buff-ness and showing off. The lights on him made his color scheme only too clear and everyone, North included, could tell what _he_ was dressed as. “That was unexpected,” North said, calmly as ever. “The flattery question comes up again, I see.”

Wash was able to see the humor when it wasn’t his helmet being worn. “Gotta say, North, he makes you look good.”

“He makes me look something, alright.”

People were laughing, which was good. York struck one last ridiculous post and stepped off stage, the music shifting back to whatever had been playing before. Carolina could see that Connie was right and South was cracking up. North looked considerably less amused. York made his way over to their group and Carolina high-fived him.

“Hey, North,” York said as if everything were normal. “Wash, what’s up?”

“Ah, you know. Existential crisis that Carolina here makes a better-looking me than I do.”

“You were horrified a minute ago,” Carolina pointed out.

Wash shrugged. “You know, I can’t put my finger on it, but something made me realize that it could be a whole lot worse.”

“This is payback for strip poker,” North accused, and York held up his hands innocently.

“Strip poker?” Carolina asked Wash.

“We all played one night. North never had to take off anything. York and I were down to nothing pretty quick.”

“How embarrassing for you.”

“For some of us. Just don’t let York tell you that size doesn’t matter, is all I’m saying.” Carolina laughed hard enough that York and North stopped arguing and looked at her accusingly, as if she’d interrupted something important.

Later events would be fuzzier as alcohol was consumed, but somewhere in the middle of it there would be pictures taken of Carolina and York together, and then York and North and Carolina and Wash, and then finally, one from late in the night after the helmets had disappeared with the four of them laughing, and that would be the memory they held onto in the times to come.

**Author's Note:**

> It's probably pretty clear, but Lou is short for Louisiana and Rhodey for Rhode Island. I love thinking about what other Freelancers might have been like.


End file.
